To Be Young Again
by Fictionnaire
Summary: Tony, Mcgee and Ziva are sent to apprahend a suspect... But something unexpected happens.
1. Chapter 1

_**To be young**_

_A/N: Ok… I've been thinking one thing today… How could I possibly make Tony more annoying than he already is… And I have come up with it._

Tony, Mcgee and Ziva were almost out the door when Gibbs had rung them from the road to order them to get to the local bar and apprehend a suspect and bring him in for questioning. There were muffled sighs all round as they geared up once again to go out in the field.

"Might not be so bad Tony." Mcgee said, "You can pick some beer up on the way back."

"Yeah." Tony laughed… But it didn't sound too bad if they didn't need to go back to NCIS.

_**Forty five minutes later**_

Gibbs had received a message to get to NCIS ASAP and if not ASAP then sooner. The tone in Ziva's voice concerned him. She was usually so calm about things but there was a hint of concern in her voice. Gibbs was soon entering the Director's office. Of course the Director wasn't there but the others had let themselves in.

Mcgee held tissues to his nose and Ziva was wearing a black eye while Tony was laid out on the couch, "What the hell happened?" Gibbs asked.

"We attempted to apprehend the criminal… But that resulted in a bar brawl." Ziva said rubbing her fist, "The suspect got away."

Gibbs shook Tony a bit before he woke up, "Tony?" He asked concerned, "Are you ok?" Tony looked around then looked at Gibbs before trying to retreat further into the couch, "What's wrong Dinozzo?"

He remained silent but it looked as if somebody put the fear of god into him, "He was put through a table." Mcgee's high pitched voice came through.

"Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked him, "Tony!"

Gibbs was shocked when Tony started balling his eyes out, "You yelled at me." He said but there was something wrong with his voice, "I didn't do anything. Why yell at me?"

The other three looked at each other dumbfounded at the sudden outburst. Something was definitely not right, "Are you alright?"

"Who are you?" He asked the others, "Daddy?"

"We should take you to the hospital." Gibbs was suddenly concerned and Tony was acting like a child and not too be funny either.

"Not hospital… They hurt. Needles." He began balling again and Mcgee couldn't help but laugh because he was even beginning to sound like a child.

"How old are you Tony?" Mcgee asked.

Tony's eyes narrowed in frustration as he tried to remember, "I'm Five… Nearly six." Tony said as if he was proud.

**_Emergency_**

Doctor Jason checked Tony all over, "Besides a bump on the head Mister Gibbs, there's nothing wrong with Tony Dinozzo."

Gibbs looked at the doctor, "Nothing wrong with him?" Gibbs asked, "He thinks he's five years old."

"Nearly six." Tony corrected, "Hey can I have lollipop?"

"We'll get you some ice-cream on the way home alright Tony." Gibbs told him and this put a beaming smile on Tony's face.

"Yippee." Tony exclaimed with a high pitched squeal of delight.

"It's not unusual for someone who's received a trauma to the head to revert back to being a child." Jason told Gibbs, "It's best to suggest that he gets looked after and he will eventually come out of it."

"Thanks a lot Doctor." Gibbs snapped, "Come on Tony."

They all sat at the café and tried to figure out what to do with Tony who sat there happily eating through his ice cream and spilling some over his shirt, "Here… Let me get that for you." Gibbs wiped his shirt down despite the curious gasps from other customers, "I'm Gibbs, this is Mcgee and Ziva."

Tony struggled to form the names so that his mouth could speak them, "Zeevah? Mageek, magoo?"

"Mcgee!" Mcgee shouted and earned a glare from Gibbs, "But boss he's doing it deliberately. It's Mcgee!"

"Mac… Mac… Mac-cheese." This time Tony laughed and spat out some ice cream.

Gibbs couldn't help it and began trying not to laugh. In fact the only person not laughing was Mcgee, "Settle down Mcgee." Gibbs said, "My name is Gibbs."

"Gwibbs!" Tony said shrieked.

Tony continued eating as the others continued their discussion, "Do not look at me Gibbs." Ziva said, "I do not know kids."

"I guess I can take him." Mcgee said shooting Tony a threatening look.

**_Mcgee's apartment_**

Offering to take Tony for the night was a huge mistake because as soon as he took him inside he began touching everything. Especially or the delicate computer pieces, "Don't touch that Tony." Mcgee said.

"Ooh." Tony said as he started bashing the keys on the typewriter.

"Don't touch that!" Mcgee yelled at him, "Why don't you go and watch a movie?" Mcgee said as he found an older video tape that Tony had once brought over on one video night, "I remember how much you liked this one Tony." He put in the Evil Dead tape and pressed play.

Not too far into the movie he began balling his eyes out again and this shocked Mcgee, "What? What?" He asked.

"Scary." He covered his eyes in horror, "Scary movie." He began crying loudly again and Mcgee was in a rush to turn the television off, "I don't want them to come after me. They're going to come after me… I'm so scared. I want Gwibbs."

Mcgee's eyes widened. If he knew that he had put on Evil Dead for Tony who thinks he's five, he'd get his head slapped into next week, "They're not going to come after you… We work for NCIS, and we can and will handle anything. As long as you're with me they won't come after you."

"Sing me a song Mckweazel." Tony said.

"Not until you get my name right." Mcgee's eyes flashed in anger.

"Mac… Mcgg… Mac." Mcgee's eyes lit up, it was sounding like he'd almost got around to saying it, "Macreepy."

"Shit." He cursed, "Go to bed."


	2. Day 1

_**To Be Young Again**_

Mcgee was already late for work and left in such a hurry. With some creative driving skills, he managed to get into the bullpen right on time but heavily breathing. He felt somebody staring at him which made him feel uncomfortable. It was Gibbs.

"Where's Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked eyeing the man accusingly.

"He's at my place." Mcgee answered.

The sound of typing ceased, "You mean you left a five year old home alone?" There was anger in his eyes.

"He's a grown man." Mcgee said.

"Who thinks he's five!" Gibbs shouted, "Damnit Mcgee."

* * *

Tony had wondered outside to find a park to play on a swing set but by the time he got around the block and down the street a bit, he was completely lost and started crying again, "I'm lost." He cried out but nobody seemed eager to help him, "I'm lost I can't find my home."

Fortunately a police officer was wondering around and noticed the crying young man, "Can I help you?" The officer asked.

"I'm lost." Tony said pathetically, "I can't find my home. Please help me."

The officer thought he was having a lend of him but the tears seemed real, "Where do you live?" He asked.

"I don't know." Tony began to cry harder, "But the man who was staying with me said he was NCIS." He managed to say in between sobs.

* * *

Gibbs was about to get everyone out to get Tony but that was soon interrupted by the phone ringing, "NCIS… Gibbs." He said into the phone, "Mac what? Oh wait, yes we do. You found him and bringing him over?" He hung up on the officer.

Mcgee knew he stuffed up and looked at Gibbs hopefully, "Is he alright."

"Tony got lost but found an officer and he's bringing Tony back here." Gibbs answered, "You're very lucky Macheezel." He smirked, "Hopefully next time you'll be a better babysitter."

The elevator dinged and Tony ran straight to Gibbs and hugged him, "Oh I missed you Gwibbs." Tony shouted with happiness.

"Whoa there fella." Gibbs said, "Thank you Officer. He received a nasty blow to the head last night and well he thinks he's five."

The officer nodded, "Nearly six." Tony said.

"That explains it." The officer said as he left.

"Did you enjoy your stay at Mcgee's last night?" Gibbs asked him.

Tony looked up with a big grin on his face, "Shit." He said laughing.

Gibbs eyes widened, "Mcgee!!" He shouted, "What made you think it was alright to teach Tony how to swear?"

"I didn't boss." Mcgee said but then remembered that he had used the word the night before, "I'm sorry boss."

"You can't say that word anymore Tony." Gibbs said to Tony in a firm voice.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Because it's a bad word." Gibbs said.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Just because." He said.

"Gwibbs?" Tony looked at him with five year old innocence, "Shit."

Without thinking about it, Gibbs raised his hand and smacked Tony in the back of the head. Another big mistake, what was alright for a normal aged man was not alright for a five year old and he began balling his eyes out and Gibbs was riddled with guilt, "I'm sorry Dinozzo… How about I get you a soda?" The crying ceased as quick as it had begun.

"Ok." Tony answered, "Coke."

Gibbs went to a vending machine and put money in to retrieve a can of coke. Even though it wasn't a healthy choice it was a better thing to give him a coke rather than coffee. He sighed in a worried way, something that he would never allow the others to see. This could be a long week or however long the effects would last. Gibbs stepped back into the bullpen and saw Mcgee and Ziva busily typing away but couldn't see Tony anywhere.

"Where's Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked them.

Both of them looked up and looked around, "He was there a minute ago Boss." Mcgee said carefully and he expected a bit more of a verbal bashing.

"Damnit you two." Gibbs said, "Now I have to look for him."

* * *

Abby was busy working on a new program that Mcgee had given her. It was a more accurate bullet trajectory estimation program. She stopped working when she had heard the sound of the elevator doors opening.

"Tony!" She squealed in her usual exuberance, "Good to see you today." She went to greet him but he just ended up running around the lab trying to get away from her.

"Help! Help!" He started screaming. Abby thought that Tony was just in his playful mood, "Stranger! Stranger." He said before suddenly stopping, "Ooh what's this?" He asked picking up her large cup of Kaf-Pow." He took a couple of large mouthfuls of it and his eyes widened.

"Tony?" She asked, "Are you alright?" Something was totally wrong.

"Heylet'splay." He began running around with her cup of Kaf-Pow. Abby was worse when it came to her Kaf-Pow than Gibbs and his coffee and began chasing him around. This made him run faster.

"Tony." Abby said but then was interrupted by Gibbs on the monitor.

"Hey Abby… This is going to sound strange." Gibbs began.

"Has this got something to do with Tony?" Abby asked then she turned to shout to something off screen, "Careful… I've stopped chasing you."

"Yes Abbs." Gibbs said, "He got hit on the head last night and thinks he's a little kid."

"He's right here Gibbs." Abby said before there was a crashing sound followed by more crying, "I need more Kaf-Pow Gibbs." She went off screen.

Gibbs stepped into the lab and found that Abby was busy trying to mop up Kaf-Pow and Tony had hold of Bert the Hippo. Every time he squeezed it and it let out a farting noise he would burst out laughing. So he kept on squeezing it and laughing. Gibbs found himself envying him really, to be so entertained by a farting hippo… Oh to be young again.

"Gwibbs." Tony suddenly realized who was there and he showed him the hippo, "See this… Listen, listen." He squeezed it tightly and responded to the fart with another laugh, "You try it."

Gibbs shook his head as he took the bear from the outstretched hand, "No." He went to put it back to the counter.

"Oh come on Gibbs." Abby said. He looked over at Abby and shook his head.

* * *

Gibbs had received a message from Director Shepard. It sounded urgent. He felt like he couldn't really trust the others to look out for Tony properly so he took him into the Director's office with him. This was something that had shocked Jenny.

"We need you to check out a death of a naval officer at Beltinsworth Navy Base." Jenny was watching Tony watch her. It was beginning to irritate her, "What?!" She snapped at Gibbs' senior agent.

"Nothing." Tony shifted his feet and stepped behind Gibbs for protection.

"Don't worry Dinozzo." Gibbs said, "Jenny's not going to hurt you. She's very friendly." Tony stepped to Gibbs' side and held onto his arm, "Sorry Jenny." Gibbs said apologetically, "He got hit in the head." She looked at Gibbs with an accusing look, "I didn't do it!" He defended himself.

"Are you ok?" Jenny said, "My name's Jenny Shepard. What's yours?"

"Tony." Tony released his death grip on Gibbs' arm.

"He received a blow to his head and thinks he's five." Gibbs explained the situation.

Tony looked at Gibbs with childlike anger before kicking him in the shins, "Nearly six." He's been telling everyone that he was nearly six but they kept insisting he was five and enough was enough.

"Shit." Gibbs said rubbing his shins, "That hurt."

"Shit… Shit… Shit." Tony repeated before dancing out of the office.

"Oh great." Gibbs rolled his eyes as he left the office with a slight limp.

* * *

It was good that Tony had made his way back to the bullpen and now was sitting at a desk quietly behaving himself, "Gear up people." Gibbs said, Mcgee and Ziva went into the elevator and the doors closed.

Tony felt alone and frightened as he was seemingly forgotten by all the others. He looked around at the empty area. But his eyes lit up when the elevator doors reopened, "Come on, Tony, come on boy." Mcgee said.

Gibbs smacked Mcgee in the back of the head, "Dinozzo's not a dog Mcgee."

Tony ran to the elevator and stepped inside just before the doors closed, "Yippee. We going for a ride." Tony exclaimed as he began jumping up and down. But something was too great resist and he began pressing all the buttons in the elevator and watched them all light up. But then something else fun to do came to him and without Mcgee noticing he reached his hand up and smacked him in the back of the head before quickly lowering his hand down.

"What was that for Boss?" Mcgee asked.

"What was what for Mcgee?" Gibbs asked.

"The smack in the head Boss?" Mcgee reminded him, "I didn't think I did anything that time."

"I didn't smack you Mcgee." Gibbs said. But he saw the culprit now. When things had quieted down, Tony raised his hand once more and so did Gibbs. Ziva saw what was about to happen and had to be part of this.

Suddenly, Mcgee felt a large slap to his head by three hands, "Ouch." He rubbed the back of his neck and wondered why he'd just been slapped so hard. He turned to everyone who was just standing, facing the door as if nothing happened, "You know what they say about people who go on a killing spree?" Mcgee said, "They say it's always the quiet ones."

_**A/N: Am thinking of what possible trouble could Tony Dinozzo cause at a naval base and a crime scene. Thanks for the reviews guys. I don't know how to make Mcgee and Ziva act like kids without steeling a Lois & Clark idea.**_


	3. Crime Scene Dramas

"Stay in the car." Gibbs had told Tony for the umpteenth time but he still refused to listen and he was getting really impatient. He thought that he had finally made it sink in. The others had began examining the crime scene and were somewhat annoyed that they had to pick up the slack on this one.

Ziva was looking around the body for any sign of fiber or something like that while Mcgee was taking photographs. Gibbs had gone inside and questioned the witness. She reached down to get an evidence bag but was shocked when her whole box of assorted crime scene stuff was now in the hands of a running Tony.

"Tony!" Ziva screamed at him, "Put that down this very instant."

Mcgee couldn't help but show a beaming smile as the Mossad chased down a senior agent because he had her Crime Scene Kit. Tony headed back to the crime scene and tripped over spilling the contents all over the place.

"Tony Dinozzo!" Ziva shouted.

But he was no longer listening and his body began to shake uncontrollably before he started screaming at the top of his lungs which caused Mcgee and Ziva to look at each other with grave concern.

Gibbs had been running through the usual questioning with a family member when he and the wife, Leyla Timms heard the screaming.

"Christ." Gibbs stood up, "Excuse me." He briskly walked outside to see them trying to console Tony as the screaming was slowly began to subside, "What? What happened?"

"He came out of the car and he stole my crime scene equipment and ran around until he fell over and saw the body." Ziva said, "Then he started screaming."

"Can't I trust you two with anything?" Gibbs asked as he took Tony aside and calmed him down, "No, he's just taking a nap." Gibbs lied and he soon calmed down till it was a quiet sob, "Do you want to go back into the car?"

"No." Tony said quietly.

"Do you want to wait out on the porch while I go inside?" Gibbs asked.

"No." He shook his head.

"Damnit Dinozzo." Gibbs said, "What do you want?"

"Can I come with you?" He looked like he was on the verge of tears again.

"Alright Dinozzo... But you have to promise me one thing." Tony nodded, "You have to promise me that you'll behave yourself." Gibbs ordered as carefully as he could.

"Ok." Tony replied with a smile.

"Good lad Dinozzo." Gibbs ruffled his hair and they struggled to get through the door together since Tony didn't want to leave Gibbs' side for one minute. He sniffed and wiped his face to hide any evidence that he had been crying.

Leyla looked at Tony standing right next to Gibbs almost touching, "First case?" She asked there was still traces of tears on Tony's face.

"No." Gibbs answered, "He's my senior agent."

Tony's eyes lit up when he saw the big jar of cookies on the counter, "Do you want something to eat sir?" She asked Tony.

"No he's right." Gibbs said, "Now about -" He couldn't believe that his senior agent was looking at him with begging eyes. Tony really wanted a cookie right about now and caused the Marine's heart to melt, "Ok... But only one, no more."

"I'd love cookie." Tony said excitedly. Gibbs looked at Tony which caused Tony to think hard.

"What do you say Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked.

Tony thought for a moment, "Please!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Ok..." Leyla looked at them carefully, the apparent Senior Agent was acting weird.

Tony took the cookie and started munching on it and Gibbs lightly tapped him on the head, "Say thank you Dinozzo."

"Thank you." Tony said innocently as he rubbed his head and chewed.

"Sorry about this Mrs Timms." Gibbs said, Tony tugged him on the jacket sleeve, "What is it now Dinozzo?"

"Can I go outside now?" Tony asked.

"Alright." Gibbs said, "But remember when outside Mcgee and Ziva are in charge." Tony squealed in delight as he ran outside, "Sorry about this... It's a long story." But without Tony hanging off his arm he was able to continue on with the questioning.

* * *

Ducky had came onto the scene and had organized the shipping body back to HQ. Tony was totally enthralled by this older man. By the way the others talked to him he was a man to be trusted and he waited in the car for the man to come back in.

"You coming with me?" Ducky asked, he hadn't heard any orders to this effect, "Oh well, let's get go."

"My name's Tony what's your name?" Tony asked.

Ducky hadn't been told what was going on but he was quite use to his antics by now and thought it better to play along, "Ducky my dear boy."

"Hehehe... Ducky." Tony answered.

"Real funny." Ducky said as they drove off, "So I guess Jethro wants the results as soon as possible."

As soon as they were off on the road, Tony began playing with knobs on the radio much to the annoyance of Ducky, "Leave it alone."

"Leave it alone." Tony said.

"What?" Ducky asked.

"What?" Tony repeated.

"What are you doing?" Ducky asked.

"What are you doing?"

"Stop that... That's annoying." Ducky said.

"Stop that... That's annoying."

"If you're going to keep this up, I'll make you walk." Ducky threatened.

"I'll make you walk." Tony said.

"This is my car." Ducky said.

"My car." Tony told him.

Ducky was in a downright bad mood with Tony by the time they had reached NCIS and had wondered what had gotten into him. He followed Ducky down to autopsy stepping in his footsteps. Something that he had found peculiar.

"Can you get Abby on the commlink?" Ducky asked.

"Ok." Tony said as he studied all the buttons to be pressed and eventually pressed them all to begin with, "Hello... Hello." Tony said into the screen, "If you happy and you know it... Clap your hands!"

The Director looked utterly confused as she saw Tony singing children's songs at her but then remembered what had happened.

"Wrong one Anthony." Ducky said.

"Sorry Duckyyy." Tony said, "Baa-baa blacksheep have you any wall? yes sir, yes sir three bags full."

"Anthony!" The screen went blank.

"What?" Tony shouted in frustration.

"Abby... You know the one in the Laboratory?" Ducky's phone went off, "Doctor Mallard." He said into the phone.

_Ducky this is Gibbs... I know this is a long shot but is Dinozzo there with you?_

"Yeah Anthony's right here. I assumed that he was here by your command." Ducky answered.

_Thank God, we've been looking for him everywhere... Is he alright Ducky?_ That was answered by a long silence, _Is he alright Ducky?_

"I'm sorry Jethro... But he's acting really weird he's even more childish than usual." Ducky answered, "He's just been singing children's songs to Director Shepard."

_Thank God._

"Jethro?"

_Yes Ducky?_

"Is something wrong with Anthony I should know about?" Ducky asked.

_It's a long story, but Tony thinks he's nearly six... Oh and Ducky, do not say he's five he's very testy about that._

"That makes se-" Ducky began to say but was now talking to thin air since Gibbs had hung up on him. He looked at Tony who was now lying on the table trying not to yawn. There was just too much going on and so much to see, "You look tired my dear boy."

"No tired." Tony whined.

"It's been a long day for you hasn't it?" Ducky said.

"No!" Tony argued.

Ducky pulled out a thin mattress and blanket that was normally kept down in autopsy when people needed a nap while waiting, "Here you go... This reminds me of a Doctor Orson who I worked with a long time ago. He use to get a lot of work done in only a couple of hours but spent most of the day sleeping... They say what goes up must go down. A rush it is." Ducky said, "I knew several people like that actually." He looked down and saw that Tony was fast asleep on the mattress and pulled the blanket over him, "That's a good lad."


	4. At Gibbs's House

* * *

Tony mumbled as someone something as somebody shook him awake. He was having a nice dream where he was riding his bicycle with a nice woman who was being friendly. They were exchanging toys and she even stayed at his place, "You awake Dinozzo?"

"Me sleeping." Tony answered before opening his eyes.

It seemed that he felt very tired still. It had been a long day, "Come on Dinozzo."

"No." Tony answered trying to lie back down.

"Come on." Gibbs said.

Eventually Tony climbed to his feet and followed Gibbs back to the bullpen. There wasn't too much evidence they could get through the night so he thought he'd take Dinozzo home with him. He also learned that perhaps it would be a smart idea to keep a distance from Ziva. She was scary looking.

"You want me to take Tony home with me again Boss?" Mcgee asked but was really hoping that he'd say no.

"No way." Gibbs said, "I don't think I can trust you two to watch Dinozzo again. A) Mcgee you left him home alone, B) Both of you took your eyes off him and lost him."

"But we had a job to do." Mcgee said.

"Excuses Mcgee." Gibbs snapped back, "You two can't be trusted."

"But Boss." Ziva began.

"He's coming home with me." Gibbs stated with no intention of him being told otherwise.

Tony felt strangely proud of himself to see Mcgee and Ziva getting an earful from Gibbs and he poked his tongue out and laughed this earned him evil looks from Mcgee and Ziva so he quickly ran up to catch up with Gibbs.

"I want you in Oh seven thirty." Gibbs said as they got into the elevator.

"What are you doing Mcgee?" Ziva asked when she noticed him writing something down in a pocket sized notebook.

"Keeping score." Mcgee said, "I plan on getting Tony back for all this."

* * *

Gibbs had swept by Tony's apartment and picked up some of his clothes and silky pajamas and ended up at his house, "You want something to eat Dinozzo?"

"Ice cream!" Tony shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ice cream!"

"No Dinozzo, you have to have something more substantial than that." Gibbs said followed by the fact that he knew he didn't have any ice cream to share.

"Ice cream!" Tony shouted.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, "How about Pie?" He asked.

"Iiiiice Creeaaaaam!" Tony said slowly so that Gibbs could understand what he was trying to say since it seemed like the older man was having trouble hearing him.

"I know you want ice cream." Gibbs said patiently, "But I don't have any ice cream... How about apple pie."

"Apple pie... Apple pie... Apple pie." Tony shouted excitedly jumping up and down, "And lollies."

"No lollies." Gibbs said, "You can have a drink from the fridge though. Help yourself." He said as he put what was left of the apple pie in the microwave to heat it up.

"Yay." Tony said.

This brought a very light smack to the back of Tony's head and Tony rubbed it, "What do you say?" There was no reason that Tony shouldn't use his manners.

"Er, thank you?" Tony asked.

"Good man." Gibbs said.

Tony grabbed the first drink he saw and sat on the living room couch and opened the bottle and started drinking. When Gibbs walked in and saw Tony sitting on the lounge drinking a bottle of beer it felt like he had completely gone back to normal, "Dinozzo!" Gibbs shouted at him in hope and excitement.

"Gwibbs!" Tony shouted back, "This lemonade is awful." He walked to the sink and began tipping the bottles out, "Awful... Eeeew."

"Dinozzo!" Gibbs shouted as Dinozzo went to grab the other bottles, "Leave those alone... That's adult lemonade."

Tony screwed up his face, "Where's daddy?" He asked.

This took Gibbs aback. The suddenness of it, he knew of the history between the father and son but couldn't tell the kid that he and dad was hardly on speaking terms. Gibbs had to think of something and think of it quick, "Your daddy had to away Dinozzo." Gibbs said with care, "And he wanted you to stay with me and NCIS... Would you like that Dinozzo?"

Tony thought for a moment, "I like you Gwibbs... You're nice." He said, "Stay with you? Yay!"

"Thank you Dinozzo." Gibbs said for such a long time he'd felt that parental bond with the senior agent and it seems that Tony knew it and would always feel it no matter how old he thought he was, "I like you to Dinozzo." He said earnestly. This put a smile on Tony's face.

Gibbs had put Tony to bed and tucked him in but it seemed that five minutes later he heard large banging coming from his room and he had to make sure that he was alright. The sight of a grown man jumping up and down on the bed shouting random things that didn't make sense was almost enough to send him over the edge.

"Trampoline Gwibbs!" Was the only thing that made sense.

"Stop that Dinozzo!" Gibbs said as he tried to grab him.

"Wee." Tony said, "Fun!"

"Goddamnit Anthony Dinozzo!" Gibbs shouted angrily, "Stop that jumping right this instant!"

Suddenly he stopped and stood still for a moment and hopped off the bed. Tony looked at Gibbs with such hurt in his eyes and was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry." Gibbs said, "Tony..." There was guilt written all over his eyes.

"You just like dad!" Tony shouted back and ran about the house until locking himself in the closet. That was something that tore at Gibbs' heart. He knew how much animosity went on between those two and then to be compared to him was downright hurtful.

"Dinozzo." Gibbs said to the closet door.

"Go away you mean man." Tony said, "All yell at Tony. Not fair."

"I didn't mean it Dinozzo." Gibbs said.

The sound of a mobile ringing from inside the closet made Gibbs look up.

"Hello?" Tony said into the mobile, "This is Tony." There was a long pause, "I love Candy." He said, "No... I've been a good boy... Yes I have! I have!" Tony began to cry.

"Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked, "Unlock the door buddy."

"I haven't been a bad boy have I Gwibbs?" He unlocked the closet with tears streaming down his face, "I've been good haven't I?"

Gibbs held him tight, "Yes you have." He smiled and wondered what would have happened if some girl had called him in this state.

"She said I've been one bad boy." Tony cried out.

"It was a wrong number." Gibbs said trying to protect him. That Candy was probably just as confused as Tony was. This brought a smile to Gibbs' face, "Don't worry about it."

* * *

Gibbs was asleep in the spare bedroom when he heard Tony scream and began calling his name, "Gwibbs! Gwibbs! Gwibbs!" Tony called out.

Gibbs leaped out of his bed and ran to Tony, "What is it Dinozzo?" He asked.

"I had a bad dream Gwibbs." Tony calmed down now that Gibbs was there, "We were standing around and a woman went to sleep. We couldn't wake her, she never woke Gwibbs!" Tony was sobbing into Gibbs arm, "Why?"

"It was just a bad dream Dinozzo." Gibbs said trying to hide the fact that he knew exactly what he was dreaming about. His true consciousness was pushing forward and confusing the kid, "Don't worry it won't happen again."

"Can I sleep with you?" Tony asked.

Gibbs was shocked at first, but he had to keep reminding himself that Tony thinks he's a kid and not a grown man, "Come on." Gibbs said, "Remember you almost six now. A big boy and big boys sleep by themselves alright Dinozzo?"

"Yes." Tony replied, "Goodnight Gwibbs."


	5. Performances & Reports

_**To Be Young Again**_

Gibbs could never function normally without his morning coffee ritual. So he stopped off at his favorite breakfast place with a still sleepy Dinozzo in tow and he selected a bacon and egg special with two cups of coffee.

"What would you like Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked.

Dinozzo thought for a moment, "Bacon and egg special… Coffee." Gibbs looked at him and raised his hand a little, "Please." Tony said quickly to avoid getting his head slapped once again.

"Good lad." Gibbs said, "You're learning Dinozzo."

Tony looked at him with his face full of beaming pride. Gibbs didn't see the harm in giving Tony a coffee since even though he was a kid, he should have the same metabolism as normal so therefore wouldn't go over the edge.

"I'm your waitress Karen." Karen said as she wrote down their order, "But of course you already knew that LJ."

"I'm Tony." Tony introduced himself.

"As in Tony Dinozzo. LJ talks about you a lot." Karen leant down and whispered into his ear before giving him a note.

"What she give you Dinozzo?" Tony passed the note to Gibbs, "Oh you have got to be kidding me… You think you're fi-almost six and you still get girl's phone numbers."

Tony shrugged, he didn't see the big deal.

* * *

Now that Tony had a full stomach and a caffeine hit he was much more awake by the time they arrived in the bullpen. Tony sat at his desk because that's where Gibbs had told him to sit because that was his chair. He obliged and sat down happily.

Mcgee and Ziva exited the elevator and stared at Gibbs and Dinozzo. Every time Gibbs reached to the left to get his coffee, Dinozzo would reach to his left to get his coke and when Gibbs shuffled through some papers, Dinozzo copied. In fact, Dinozzo was copying everything he did.

"Oh I have to get this." Mcgee said as he set up his camera phone and pointed it just enough to get both of them in the shot.

"Yes, there will be a pissing fit." Ziva said.

"Hissing fit don't you mean?" Mcgee corrected.

"No… We will be pissing ourselves laughing." Ziva said.

They stood silently watching the copycat routine continue uninterrupted, "Jesus." Mcgee said quietly, "They really are like father and son."

"You say something Mcgee?" Gibbs looked up.

"Uh, no boss." Mcgee answered.

Fornell walked into the bullpen and asked Gibbs to follow him upstairs. Of course since Gibbs had stood up, so had Tony and he was hurriedly following Gibbs as if he was afraid he'd be lost if he didn't stick to him.

"I need everything you have on the case." Fornell said, "That guy who was killed was an FBI operative as well. I can't give you all the details –" Tony was watching the Fornell's finger going up and down as he reiterated his point, "What the hell are you doing?" He looked at Tony, "I don't have time for all this shit Gibbs."

"Shit… Shit… Shit." Tony exclaimed loudly.

"What?" Fornell asked, "Have you finally lost your marbles?"

Tony frantically checked his pockets, "Oh, ha… I don't have any marbles."

"So are you going to hand over the information?" Fornell asked Gibbs.

Tony reached his hand up and smacked Fornell in the back of the head, "What do you say?" Gibbs covered his mouth with hand and coughed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Dinozzo?" Fornell snapped causing Tony to back off.

"Hey, Dinozzo?" Gibbs tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, "Why don't you go wait in that room over there and I'll just be out here but I'll come in and get you when I'm done talking out here."

"Can I have a coke?" Tony asked.

"You have had one not too long ago. It's bad for you Tony." Gibbs answered, "When I'm done here, I'll get you a coffee right?"

"Ok." Tony said, "I'll be in here."

"Stress getting to much for your team Jethro?" Fornell asked as he watched Tony enter the comm. Room.

"There's nothing wrong with my team." Gibbs answered, "We've done legwork for this case already and you just want us to hand everything we have to you just like that."

"You're telling me there's nothing wrong with Tony Dinozzo?" Fornell asked, "And yes."

"He's as good as gold." Gibbs answered, "Now keep your mind on the subject at hand Fornell."

* * *

Nobody seemed to pay any attention to Tony when he walked into the room. But his eyes lit up like a kid's in a candy store because of all the buttons that were waiting to be pushed on the console. There were buttons and there were switches and dials and everything that a kid could want to play with.

As he played with them he saw the screens light up with life, "Ooh TV!" Squealed Tony. Now everyone was looking at him, dumbfounded.

The DefSec appeared on screen, "What can I do for you Agent Dinozzo?" The old man asked.

Tony thought for a moment, he'd heard how the grownups talked, "I need you to listen to me carefully." Tony said seriously.

"I'm listening Agent Dinozzo." DefSec said.

"Are you listening?" Tony asked.

"Yes."

"Really?" Tony asked again.

"Yes I'm really listening!" DefSec raised his voice, "What do you wish to say?"

Tony walked into the middle of the CommRoom, "Ok if you're really listening." Tony said, "I'm a little teapot short and stout." He began doing the actions to it as well, "Here is my handle, here's my spout." And did the pouring action as well and waited for the praise.

"I don't know what your game is Agent Dinozzo." DefSec said, "I don't like to have my time wasted.

Tony looked sad, "You don't like that?" He asked.

"No!" DefSec snapped.

"Ok…" Tony thought for a moment, "Are you listening now?"

"Yes damnit!"

"Twinkle, twinkle little star… How I wonder what you are." The screen went blank and Tony was left in the middle of the room where everyone was staring at him with mouths open. Oh well he still had an audience, "Jingle Bells, batman smells Robin ran away." Tony started.

"Somebody better call Gibbs." Somebody said, "I think Tony's been headslapped to many times."

* * *

"Who knew that little Tony was such a performer?" Ziva asked as she and Mcgee watched him on the big screen.

"Maybe we should go rescue him." Mcgee said but was unable to take his eyes of the car wreck. He almost felt sorry for him… Almost.

"Why?" Ziva asked.

Mcgee remained silent for a little while. He couldn't think of any really good ideas at the moment, "Because…" Was the only reason he could think of.

"Maybe you are right." Ziva said, "Maybe."

They had explained to Gibbs that they were looking after Tony since he was busy with other things. At first, they were looked at with a distrusting glare but was soon given the go ahead.

"But remember… If anything goes wrong, it'll be on your heads." Gibbs warned.

Tony sat on a wheeled office chair in the middle of the bullpen and Ziva was pushing the chair towards Mcgee. This took their minds off any stress and helped them relax actually. Soon Mcgee was wheeling Tony all around the bullpen and whipped him hard.

"Wee." Tony screeched as sped along the carpet and doing circles, "Wee."

The chair came to a rolling stop right in front of Gibbs who was drinking his coffee and happy that he was having so much fun, "I need you to type up anything that you have in your notes. We're to hand them to Fornell ASAP." Gibbs said, "Today people!" He barked.

As the others were typing away, Tony was busy scribbling on a piece of paper and began typing on the computer like all the others were doing. This fascinated him, the thought of others just sitting around doing and saying nothing. The sound of typing increased as Mcgee and Ziva raced towards their finish line.

Tony watched Mcgee and Ziva race to get their report to Gibbs first with such curios eyes. Tony stood up and approached the desk. Ziva had won the race by knocking Mcgee out of the way.

Gibbs read through the reports and placed them down on the desk, "Here's mine." Tony handed his paper to Gibbs and waited hopefully.

"That's good Dinozzo." Gibbs said.

"You didn't even read it." Tony cried out.

Gibbs pretended to intently read through the scribbles and writing. Down the page read the name "Anthony" in large crooked printed letters, "This is great work Dinozzo… I think this should get a gold star and put on the fridge right away."

Dinozzo's chest puffed out with childlike pride.

"Hey I want a gold star to." Mcgee said as he wondered what on Earth had gotten into Gibbs.

"If Mcgee is getting a gold star I want one to." Ziva said, "It is not fair that everyone else gets a gold star."

"Nobody's getting a gold star except for Dinozzo." Gibbs said slightly annoyed.

"That's so unfair." Mcgee said as he suddenly wanted a gold star for his work. It seemed like Gibbs had gone off the rails a bit since Dinozzo thought he was a kid, "What happened to being treated fairly? I want a gold star to."

"What do you say?" Dinozzo asked Mcgee.

"What?"

Tony smacked him in the back of the head and giggled, "I'm going to give these to Fornell." Gibbs said as he gathered up the reports, "Can you two look after Dinozzo?"

"Sure boss." Mcgee and Ziva looked at each other and smiled an evil smile towards Tony who smiled back at them.


	6. Games & Shopping

_A/N: Let me just say thank you all for reviewing. It makes me happy that you people are enjoying this story almost as much as I've enjoyed writing it. This is extremely fun to write in case you couldn't tell._

_**To Be Young Again**_

"How would you like to play a fun game?" Mcgee said as Ziva started going through Tony's draws until she found what she knew he had.

"Oh…Kay." Tony answered with nerves and excitement.

"You want to go on a big chair ride Tony?" Mcgee asked with a big grin.

"Got it Mcgee." Ziva said.

"Sure." Tony yelled as he jumped up and down.

"Good." Mcgee said, "There sit on the chair… We don't want you to fall out and hurt yourself do we?" Tony shook his head, "So Ziva's going to handcuff you… It would be just like cops and robbers huh? Every kid loves cops and robbers… Bet you do to. Gibbs likes quiet people… Do you want to a quiet kid for kids?" Tony nodded energetically, "Good." Mcgee said as he used masting tape to seal Tony's mouth shut, "Are you ready for a ride?"

They wheeled Tony around and pushed him into the elevator and pressed every button on the wall. Ziva stapled a note to Tony's shirt reading, "Send Back Up Please"

On each floor, the elevator doors swung open and he got some really curious looks from people who got a glimpse of the Agent handcuffed to an office chair with his mouth taped up. None too soon, thought some people. As soon as the doors closed people went back to their business.

Abby was surprised when she had heard the elevator ding. She hadn't expected anyone to be down here at this point of time. Nobody had walked out of the elevator and into her lab so she walked to the elevator.

Tony's eyes widened in even more excitement at seeing Abby approach and in a last ditch effort he tried to use his legs to pull the chair along to bait her into a game of cat and mouse. But he just couldn't get the speed up to get away from the Cat.

"Gotcha!." Abby shouted, "What's this? Send Back Up!" She took the masting tape off Tony's mouth carefully.

"Wee." Tony shouted, "That was fun… Again, again!"

"Who did this to you?" Abby asked with a questioning gaze. But she could easily guess. The list of suspects was very short, containing just two names.

* * *

There were only two heads in the bullpen that Gibbs counted and there was one missing. His eyes flashed with fiery anger, "Where's Dinozzo?" He asked.

"He went for a ride to basement." Ziva said.

Mcgee almost burst out laughing at this. But managed to control himself before losing it, "He should be up any moment now."

The elevator doors opened and Tony went along the carpet using his feet to propel himself across the floor screaming loudly with delight as he narrowly missed bumping into two people walking by.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs!" Fornell's voice echoed through the floor.

"What?" Gibbs answered.

Ziva threw Mcgee the keys so that he could unlock the handcuffs so Tony can get off the chair, "Is this some sort of joke?" Fornell showed Gibbs the scribbles and writing on a piece of paper, "This is a very serious investigation… And you give me crap like this?" Fornell was shouting in annoyance.

Tony walked up to him and snatched the paper from his hand, "Mine." He looked at Fornell with anger, "Mine." He said again before sitting back down.

"Watch it Anthony." Fornell warned. Tony turned around and poked his tongue out at Fornell and blew a raspberry, "What was that? Did you see that" He refused to be treated with such disrespect.

"See what?" Gibbs asked, "I didn't see anything."

"Anthony blew me a raspberry." Fornell said.

Mcgee and Ziva used paper to cover their mouths, "Is that true Dinozzo? Did you blow him a raspberry?" Gibbs asked Tony.

"No… He lies." Tony said out loud.

"Stop telling lies!" Gibbs said to Fornell.

"What?" Fornell asked, "This is so fucked up right here." He stormed off.

Tony turned around to face Gibbs and opened his mouth to say something, "Don't even think about it Dinozzo." He slapped Tony on the back of the head, it was obvious what Tony was about to say, "You two come here." When Mcgee and Ziva stood near him he whacked both of them in the back of the head as well, "If you two ever handcuff Dinozzo to a chair again you'll be severely reprimanded."

"Yes Boss." Mcgee and Ziva exchanged glances wondering how on earth he could have known about that.

* * *

Gibbs had to pick some things at the shop so that he would have something to cook something for dinner tonight. Dinozzo soon became bored going through the aisles at the supermarket. It seemed that everything he put into the trolley to help Gibbs with the shopping was immediately put back on the shelf.

"Stop touching things Dinozzo." Gibbs said after his patience was running out, "Why don't you go to the next aisle and get some potato chips?" He suggested, he didn't have to say it twice since Tony was already running before Gibbs could finish the sentence, "Kids." Gibbs smiled and was glad to have some moment's peace. But that was short lived.

"Nyah… What's up Doc?" Gibbs could hear Tony's voice over the PA.

Gibbs rolled his eyes as he made his way to the front, picking up pace as he heard the scuffling coming over the speakers.

"They're taking me away… Help! Help!" Tony was forcibly removed from the store, "You're mean men." He said as he poked his tongue out at them.

As soon as their backs were turned he was soon back in the store and waiting in line with Gibbs, "Can I have a coke?" Tony asked.

"No." Gibbs answered.

"Can I have a lollipop?" Tony asked.

"No." Gibbs said.

"Can I have… A mars bar?"

"No."

"A picnic?"

"No."

"A crunchie?"

"No."

Gibbs was relieved when there was silence. He gave the other people around an apologetic look. Again, the peace was short lived.

"Can I have a Kit-Kat?" Tony asked.

"No."

"Can I have a life saver?"

"No."

"Can I have a lollipop?" Tony asked.

"You already asked me that." Gibbs' eyes narrowed.

"Well?" Tony asked.

"Well what?"

"Can I have a lollipop?"

Right now all the onlookers were pointing and talking amongst themselves at the two men, especially the one who was acting like a little child. Things only went from bad to worse when they exited the store.

"Can I have a ride in the car?" Tony asked pointing to the little ride-in car.

"No." Gibbs rubbed his face with impatience.

"But I want to. Why can't I have a ride?" Tony was shouting.

"Because I don't have time for this." Gibbs said, "We gotta get going home Dinozzo."

Tony dropped to the floor and began kicking and screaming and everyone in the store was looking at them with such shocked expressions and suddenly Gibbs' face felt flushed. He couldn't believe that Tony was throwing a temper tantrum, "Get up Dinozzo." He said, "Ok… Ok… You can have a ride in the stupid car." Gibbs said to diffuse the situation.

Gibbs put a coin into the slot and watched Tony, who'd only just manage to fit in the car moved the steering wheel of the car with flashing lights with such glee, "Yee-haw." Tony was now starting to sound like cowboy riding a bull with one arm up in the air. Gibbs couldn't resist but take a photo of him with the camera. This was nuts.

"Happy now Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked as he helped Tony to the floor.

"Yes I am happy now." Tony replied.

"Oh, you're going to be the death of me." Gibbs muttered so that nobody could hear.

* * *

The next morning, Tony felt really well rested. The bed was extremely comfortable and he really didn't want to get out of bed but his internal clock was telling him it was time to get up. He slowly rolled to his back and to the other side before opening his eyes.

"Aaagghhh." Tony screamed at the top of his lungs as he found himself staring into Gibbs' face. Gibbs let out a squeal to.

Tony leapt out of bed, "Hey boss… Umm." He stood up and frantically looked around, "Um boss I can explain." He said.

"I'd like to see you explain Dinozzo." Gibbs said.

Tony thought long and hard. He couldn't find any reason why he was in bed with Gibbs. That really frightened him, "I can't actually. I'm sorry Boss, I really have no idea… I -."

A smile on Gibbs' face relaxed him a little, "Welcome back Dinozzo?"

Tony thought hard again, "Did I go somewhere?" He asked with a confused look on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

_**To Be Young Again**_

"How are you feeling?" Gibbs asked with a concerned look, "Have you got a headache or feel sick or dizzy?"

"I feel great actually." Tony said but something on the fridge had caught his eye, "What's that?" There was a scribble on a paper that looked like a child's doodling and was even surprised to see his name at the bottom."

"That's your report Dinozzo… Are you sure you feel alright?" Gibbs stood up.

"I feel very confused." Tony said, "I'm not sure how I ended up in here… or your bed." He wondered how on earth that could ever happen.

"What's the last thing you do remember?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, last thing I remember is walking into a bar and trying to apprehend the suspect you wanted."

"That was three nights ago." Gibbs stood beside him but Tony remained seated.

"I've lost two three days." Tony said, still trying to fathom why he woke up next to Gibbs.

"Well there's something else…" He slapped him in the back of the head, "That's for kicking me in the shin." Another slap, "That's for stealing Ziva's crime scene equipment." Another slap, "That's for leaving the crime scene with Ducky without telling me." Another slap, "That's for jumping up and down on the bed." Another slap, "That's for swearing when I told you not to." Another slap, "That's for locking yourself in my closet." Another slap.

"Whoa wait a minute." Tony exclaimed, "I didn't do any of those things."

"That's for embarrassing me in public by having a tantrum." Gibbs said.

"What?" Tony thought hard for a moment. Gibbs wouldn't lie to him usually… But this all sounded ridiculously bogus, "I would never." Suddenly, he felt really confused.

"Where are you going Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"To work boss." He answered, "As I say, I feel great."

* * *

Ziva looked over Mcgee's shoulder as he compiled security footage and his own footage into one collage. She was smiling at all the stupid stuff that Tony had been doing, "Hang on." Mcgee suddenly had a great idea and his smile broadened and he typed youtube dot com into the address bar of the computer.

"Youtube?" Ziva asked.

"A site where people have uploaded videos of themselves or other people." Mcgee answered, "Really funny stuff."

"Ah." Ziva said as she heard the elevator doors open and saw Gibbs walk in closely followed by Tony, "Hello there little Tony… Having a good day?" She asked in a last ditch effort to show Gibbs that she could treat Tony nicely, "I got a special surprise for you."

"I'm doing good Ziva." Tony wondered why she was talking to him funny and almost fell of his chair when she brought him a little teddy bear, "How are you?" He was afraid to ask, "What are you doing?"

"I know I have been mean to you… Do you accept my apology?" She asked.

Tony looked at the teddy bear, "Damnit Ziva… Do you think I'm five or something? Whatever has gotten into you?" He asked.

"You're no longer five?" Mcgee asked.

Tony couldn't work out why he had the sudden urge to yell at Mcgee. Instead, he looked at him with a quizzical look, "Why would I be five Probie?"

Ziva slapped him across the face, "That's for always getting us into trouble with Gibbs." The slap could be heard through the bullpen and even Gibbs looked up with a smile.

"Ouch." Tony rubbed his cheek, "What was that for?"

Mcgee walked up and hit Tony on the back of the head, "That goes for me to."

"What did I do?" Tony had a sore arm, cheek and head now, "What were those for?"

"You don't remember?" Mcgee asked. This was just going to be too much fun. He noticed that Brandon James, the Secretary of Defense was walking through the area and he had to watch this with silence.

"Hello Mister James." Tony said. James was the only guy that he really got along with inside the Pentagon.

"Don't, "Hi" me Agent Dinozzo." SecDef said viciously, "Your act was childish and a waste of my time. Don't you realize that my time is really important?"

"I do." Tony replied quickly, "I would never waste your time."

"Don't you consider singing 'I'm a little teacup' wasting my time?" He snapped at him before leaving.

"What the hell was all that about?" Tony asked as he looked to the others for answers, "Is there anybody I haven't pissed off?" It seemed that whatever he'd done over the past couple of days had really gotten on their nerves, "Hey Fornell." Tony looked up.

"Don't you hi me Dinozzo." Fornell replied, "I don't understand why you don't treat me with a bit of respect… I think I deserve that at least. Until you give me that respect I suggest you shut up."

"Sir?" He asked, "What are you on about?" He tried to think of what possible cause could Fornell have for speaking to him like that, "What did I do?" Fornell just snarled before going back to the business he was there for, "I have no idea what that was about."

"You have no recollection of blowing raspberries at Fornell or singing to, I'm a little teacup to the Secretary of Defense in the Comm Room?" Tony shook his head and gave them a look as though they were crazy, "Amazing." Mcgee added, "I have proof?"

Gibbs and Tony looked at him right away, "Ok." Tony walked over to Mcgee's terminal and watched as Mcgee played the video of him singing to SecDef proudly also showed him mimicking Gibbs and security surveillance of Tony riding down the elevator handcuffed to a chair, "What the hell?" Tony ran his fingers through his hair.

"You thought you were five years old after you got put through a table." Ziva asked then looked down at the computer at the Youtube page, "That sounds funny."

"Grown man acting like child." Mcgee clicked on the link.

Somebody had uploaded their video footage of Tony chucking one adult sized temper tantrum before taking a ride in a coin-operated kid's car. Tony's eyes widened with shock and it showed Gibbs there trying to avoid peoples' gazes. He had totally no recollection of that ever happening.

"Oh God." Tony read through some of the comments that had been left, "There goes my personal life."

"Oh relax Tony." Ziva replied, "How many people will watch this?"

"Well it was only uploaded late last night." Mcgee answered, "And it's already had three thousand two hundred and twenty one views."

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone. It's been a fun ride, too bad it's ended now:( I'm sorry to see it go.**_


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